The Everything Spanish Phrase Book: A Quick Reference for Any Situation
By Cari Luna
5/5
()
About this ebook
From ordering dinner and asking for directions to working and communicating in Latino communities, this handy guide provides readers with all they need as ellos hablan español in any setting.
Organized by situation, The Everything Spanish Phrase Book contains the right words for:
- Traveling and making reservations
- Dining and shopping
- Speaking Spanish in a business setting
- Working with the Latino community
Fully indexed and complete with a pronunciation guide and helpful dictionaries, The Everything Spanish Phrase Book is the ideal resource for business or pleasure.
Cari Luna
An Adams Media author.
Related to The Everything Spanish Phrase Book
Related ebooks
The Everything Spanish Verb Book: A Handy Reference For Mastering Verb Conjugation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Spanish Practice Book: Hands-on Techniques to Improve Your Speaking And Writing Skills Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Essential Spanish Book: All You Need to Learn Spanish in No Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Everything Spanish Grammar Book: All The Rules You Need To Master Espanol Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn Spanish In A Hurry: Grasp the Basics of Espanol Pronto! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/52,001 Most Useful Spanish Words Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conversational Spanish Quick and Easy: Part 1: The Most Innovative Technique to Learn the Spanish Language. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/52000 Most Common Spanish Words in Context: Get Fluent & Increase Your Spanish Vocabulary with 2000 Spanish Phrases Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDirty Spanish Workbook: 101 Fun Exercises Filled with Slang, Sex and Swearing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLearn Spanish for Beginners & Dummies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spanish for Beginners: Learn the Basics of Spanish in 7 Days Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spanish for Beginners: A Comprehensive Guide for Learning the Spanish Language Fast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy Spanish Phrase Book NEW EDITION: Over 700 Phrases for Everyday Use Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Spanish Short Stories for Beginners: Learn Spanish by Reading and Improve Your Vocabulary Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/51001 Most Useful Spanish Words NEW EDITION Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Conversational Spanish Dialogues: 50 Spanish Conversations & Short Stories: Conversational Spanish Dual Language Books, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnlocking Spanish with Paul Noble Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Daily Spanish For Beginners: How To Easily Speak Spanish With Only 12 Minutes Of Practice A Day Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpanish Short Stories For Beginners: 56 Entertaining Short Stories To Refresh Your Spanish Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLearn Spanish for Beginners: Easy Step-by-Step Method to Start Learning Spanish Today Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Urban's Spanish Language Course for Beginners and Travellers: Spanish learning course Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpanish Short Stories for Beginners: Easy Spanish Beginner Stories, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Spanish For You
Dirty Spanish Flash Cards: Everyday Slang From "What's Up?" to "F*%# Off!" Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spanish for Beginners: Learn the Basics of Spanish in 7 Days Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Talk Dirty Spanish: Beyond Mierda: The curses, slang, and street lingo you need to Know when you speak espanol Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFirst Spanish Reader: A Beginner's Dual-Language Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spanish Stories/Cuentos Espanoles: A Dual-Language Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Conversational Spanish Quick and Easy: Part 1: The Most Innovative Technique to Learn the Spanish Language. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dirty Spanish Workbook: 101 Fun Exercises Filled with Slang, Sex and Swearing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLearn Spanish : How To Learn Spanish Fast In Just 168 Hours (7 Days) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Spanish For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spanish for Geniuses: Verbs, Pronouns, Prepositions and Beginner Vocabulary Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spanish Grammar: a QuickStudy Laminated Reference Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn Spanish: Flash Cards for Beginners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spanish for Beginners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy Spanish Stories For Beginners: 5 Spanish Short Stories For Beginners (With Audio) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I Love to Help Me encanta ayudar (Spanish Children's Book): English Spanish Bilingual Collection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spanish Short Stories for Beginners: 20 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Spanish & Grow Your Vocabulary the Fun Way! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDirty Spanish: Everyday Slang from "What's Up?" to "F*%# Off!" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConversational Spanish Dialogues: Over 100 Spanish Conversations and Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Vocabulary, 2nd Edition: With 240 Exercises + Free Flashcard App Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Love My Mom Amo a mi mama (Bilingual Spanish Kids book): English Spanish Bilingual Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unlocking Spanish with Paul Noble Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Polyglot Notes. Practical Tips for Learning Foreign Language Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Everything Spanish Phrase Book
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
The Everything Spanish Phrase Book - Cari Luna
The Top Ten Spanish Phrases You Should Know
Do you speak English?
¿Habla usted inglés?
AH-blah OO-stehd een-GLEHS
I don’t understand.
No comprendo.
noh kohm-PREHN-doh
I’m allergic to …
Soy alérgico/a a …
sohy ah-LEHR-hee-koh/kah ah
I need a doctor.
Necesito un doctor.
neh-seh-SEE-toh oon dohk-TOHR
Where is the emergency exit?
¿Dónde está la salida de emergencia?
DOHN-deh eh-STAH lah sah-LEE-dah deh eh-mehr-HEN-see-ah
Hello!
¡Hola!
OH-lah
Good-bye!
¡Adiós!
ah-dee-OHS
My name is …
Me llamo …
me YAH-moh
Where is … ?
¿Dónde está … ?
DOHN-deh eh-STAH
I’m lost.
Estoy perdido/a.
eh-STOHY pehr-DEE-doh/dah
Introduction
¡Bienvenidos! Welcome to The Everything® Spanish Phrase Book! Whether you intend to use this book when traveling to a Spanish-speaking country, or to speak with Spanish-speakers in your community or workplace, here you’ll find the tools that will help you to communicate.
If you already have some formal knowledge of Spanish under your belt, you’ll appreciate this book as a quick reference or refresher. The thematic organization will make it easy to find the information you’re looking for.
No prior experience with Spanish? No problem! You may be surprised to find out how much of the Spanish language you’ve already absorbed from the world around you. Spanish is everywhere these days. In fact, many words in common usage in American English today have been adopted directly from Spanish. In addition to the Spanish vocabulary you already have, we’ll build up your skills in an easy-to-understand way. Don’t worry! Anyone can learn a foreign language, with a little bit of patience and a willingness to try. Perhaps along the way you’ll even fall in love with this beautiful language, and dedicate yourself to further study of it.
No phrase book can hope to present a language in its entirety. You can use The Everything® Spanish Phrase Book as a means of reviewing the basics in anticipation of a trip or other situation that will call for Spanish language skills, or you can carry it with you and refer to it as the need arises. You can start off with a basic introduction to Spanish pronunciation and grammar, to get your bearings. You’ll find that understanding Spanish grammar will make your communication in Spanish easier and more natural. It’ll allow you to take a step away from searching for individual words and phrases and toward true conversation.
The following chapters are organized by vocabulary theme or situation. Each thematic section provides you with the words and phrases you’ll need for most typical encounters, from meeting someone for the first time, to travel, dining out, and working together in a business setting. Each vocabulary word and phrase is followed by a transliteration to help you pronounce it properly. You can also refer back to the pronunciation guide in Chapter 1 whenever you need a reminder.
In addition to thematic chapters, there’s also a collection of must-have words and phrases for basic communication, organized into one chapter for quick, at-a-glance reference. Use it on the spot as the need arises, or in combination with the appropriate thematic chapter for more in-depth conversation.
And there’s also a chapter that covers idioms, sayings, and slang to give you a feel for the flavor of everyday conversation in Spanish. While not necessary for navigating the streets of Barcelona, closing a business deal in Mexico City, or ordering a meal in Miami, having a few idioms and slang words in your arsenal will make it easier to connect with the native speakers around you.
Chapter 1
Pronunciation and Grammar
This chapter is by no means intended to replace formal Spanish instruction or a Spanish textbook. What it will give you is a basic understanding of Spanish pronunciation and grammar, to put the phrases you’ll find later in the book into a framework. We hope that this basic introduction will serve you well as you explore the rest of this book. In the next chapter, we jump right into conversation. ¡Buena suerte! Good luck!
A Guide to Pronunciation
Spanish isn’t a difficult language to pronounce. Just remember to relax your mouth and use your lips. We don’t really use our lips all that much in English, but you’ll need them in Spanish, so don’t be afraid to put them out there!
The great thing about Spanish pronunciation is that it sounds exactly the way it’s spelled. In English, car
and cat
have two different vowel sounds in spite of their similar spellings. In Spanish, the letter a
always represents one particular sound.
Even more conveniently, there are two simple rules that govern which syllable in any word is normally accented:
In words that end in a vowel (-a, -e, -i, -o, -u), -s,
or -n,
the stress normally falls on the second-to-last syllable. For example: mano (MAH-noh), hand; playas (PLAH-yahs), beaches; cantaban (kahn-TAH-bahn), they sang.
In words that end in any consonant except -s
or -n,
the stress normally falls on the last syllable. For example: verdad (vehr-DAHD), truth; azul (ah-SOOL), blue; luz (loos), light.
However, some words don’t follow these two rules. To let the readers know how these words should be stressed in pronunciation, Spanish employs an acute accent mark ( ’ ) over the vowel to indicate the stressed syllable. For example: lápiz (LAH-pees), pencil; médico (MEH-dee-coh), doctor; música (MOO-see-kah), music. The accent mark might also be used to differentiate two words with same spelling but different meaning: dónde (DOHN-deh), where (question word); donde (DOHN-deh), where (as a preposition).
Essential sidebar Just as with English, there is a wide variety of accents in the Spanish language because it’s spoken in so many different countries and cultures throughout the world. Because it’s impossible to cover them all, this book presents the pronunciations you’re most likely to hear coming from people from Central and South America.
The Pronunciation Guide chart will certainly help you with pronunciation, but nothing works as well as getting the sound of the language in your ear. To learn to pronounce Spanish words, listen to the spoken language. Listening to Spanish on TV, the radio, or the city bus will get your ear accustomed to the sounds, and you’ll find it much easier to recreate them yourself.
Alert sidebar You might notice that speakers of Spanish pronounce v
so that it sounds more like b.
Don’t worry, you’re not hearing things. This is a common speech modification found in several languages.
The u, which is usually pronounced as oo, presents a challenge when it follows the letter g. If the combination gu is followed by a it’s always pronounced like oo — guardia (policeman) GWAHR-dee-ah. If it’s followed by e or i it’s silent, and it’s only pronounced as oo when it carries the umlaut (¨): nicaragüense (Nicaraguan) is pronounced nee-cah-rah-GWEHN-seh.
The Spanish You Already Know
Now that you’ve gotten a quick introduction to Spanish pronunciation, it’s time to go on to Spanish vocabulary. Fortunately, you already know more Spanish than you probably realize, because English and Spanish share many cognates — words that share a similar meaning and spelling because they originated from the same word. Study the cognates provided here, and you’ll have a head start on building a strong Spanish vocabulary.
Beware the False Friend!
Don’t assume a word is a cognate just because it sounds like an English word you know. Some words look and sound like they should be cognates, but they aren’t — they actually